Blue Jackets push around Ducks in 4-2 win

Nick Foligno said he has gone after plenty of goaltenders before, so when he shoved Ducks goalie John Gibson onto his backside after Gibson pushed him with both hands was nothing new for him.

But that exchange late in the second period — Gibson tripped Foligno behind the net, the two exchanged words, Gibson ripped off his mask and they skated toward each other — was something different for a Blue Jackets team whose strength is skill, not scrapping.

The Jackets beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-2 on Friday night at Nationwide Arena and did it in physical fashion, with a feisty Foligno leading a fired-up bunch and finishing off their eighth win in the past nine games with an empty-net goal.

“I thought it helped Nick’s game. That’s an important part of Nick’s game,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “That’s what I like about our team. We can play a lot of different ways.

“I don’t think we have been as physical as we were last year, but sometimes the play dictates that. Give Anaheim credit. It’s a team that is just beat up with injuries. … It almost helps your team camaraderie-wise, and they played hard.”

Several skirmishes broke out between the teams throughout a chippy contest, and the Jackets embraced the style of play.

“We stepped up when we needed to physically, and we were there for one another in the scrums,” said center Brandon Dubinsky, who had a goal and an assist. “Those type of things and those type of games bring teams together. When you’ve got somebody’s back, it’s not always about dropping the gloves. It’s about being there, and being in the mix. Everyone on the bench sees that and gets revved up.”

Josh Anderson and Artemi Panarin each notched a goal and two assists, backup goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves and “was outstanding in the third period,” Tortorella said, and the Jackets even got a power-play goal.

Panarin fired in a shot from the low left circle on the fourth of a season-high seven power-plays for the Jackets, who were 1-for-32 with a man-advantage the past 12-plus games to Panarin’s goal.

Pierre-Luc Dubois added two assists as the top line of Panarin, Dubois and Anderson combined for eight points.

“It’s sustaining us here a bit offensively,” Tortorella said of the line.

The Blue Jackets trailed 2-1 at 2:32 of the second period when Kevin Roy scored one-on-one against Korpisalo. Tortorella rested starter Sergei Bobrovsky for the second consecutive game, marking the first time since April 2 and 4, 2016, that Bobrovsky went two in a row without a start.

The Jackets struck first on Friday for the seventh consecutive game and ninth time in the past 10 games.

Panarin competed for the puck along the boards and fed Dubinsky, who ripped a shot from above the circle that Gibson never saw with Anderson screening him. Anderson initially was credited with the goal, but it was later changed to Dubinsky.

The Ducks knotted the score barely two minutes later on Cam Fowler’s laser from about the same spot as Dubinsky’s shot.